portable generator, txnfr switch?

[flatbutt]

FWIW and I'm sure this is well documented somewhere but the energy density of propane v gasoline in this application may make a difference.

[jyl]

https://motorsnorkel.com/propane-consumption-rate/

Here is some info on generator running time on propane.

Edit: looks like 1000 watts for 1 hour requires 20,000 Btu which is roughly 0.9 lb of propane.

So for my minimalist “just heat and net, ma’am” application, which I figure will require less than 1000 watts average, a 20 lb tank can potentially last most of a whole day. That assumes optimal generator choice - powering a 1000 watt load with a 14 kW genset is, I would guess, going to be far less efficient than with a 2 kW generator.

1 gal gasoline has 114,000 Btu, so a 5 gal can of gasoline can potentially last over a day, again assuming optimal genset choice. With multiple refuelings.

[flatbutt]

IMHO you need to weigh how often you're going to need the gennie and how long you need to run it. Do you need it for water?Heat?Cooling?Food storage?

Sandy kept us on our own for 15 days. I was able to run my entire house on 4000W the whole time (water, heat, refrig, lights).

[rfuerst911sc]

Depends on the house . We have a well pump so that's 220 . We have a dual fuel heat pump so again 220 . Our water heater is electric so again 220 . For us to have heat/AC and hot and cold water at a minimum I need a decent size generator for whole house. We have a refrigerator upstairs and a freezer downstairs.

In an emergency situation we don't need washer and dryer with the dryer being 220 electric . I " think " with modern soft start technology I could get away with a 10k generator with a 12k adding some insurance . That size is relatively affordable with decent fuel consumption. Most calculations say 17-20k is needed but I think that is maybe for a large family . It is just me and my wife .

[jyl]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

IMHO you need to weigh how often you're going to need the gennie and how long you need to run it. Do you need it for water?Heat?Cooling?Food storage?

Sandy kept us on our own for 15 days. I was able to run my entire house on 4000W the whole time (water, heat, refrig, lights).

I’ll bet you were a popular guy! 15 days is a long time.

Here in urban PacNW, power outages are caused by windstorms, icestorms, and most often wind&icestorms, bringing down trees and powerlines/cablelines. The longest outage I’ve experienced in 16 years here - and only once - was power out for 4 days (internet out for a week). Most outages are only half a day or so, and those happen every other year or so. For a 3 day outage, I’d be fine with just being able to power heat (blower for gas furnace), internet, and spare me a hundred watts for laptop, phone charger, charging battery packs. Hot water would be nice (blower for gas water heater). Freezer isn’t that important to me (worst case, we and the neighbors all eat like kings for a couple weeks).

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by jyl

I’ll bet you were a popular guy! 15 days is a long time.

Here in urban PacNW, power outages are caused by windstorms, icestorms, and most often wind&icestorms, bringing down trees and powerlines/cablelines. The longest outage I’ve experienced in 16 years here - and only once - was power out for 4 days (internet out for a week). Most outages are only half a day or so, and those happen every other year or so. For a 3 day outage, I’d be fine with just being able to power heat (blower for gas furnace), internet, and spare me a hundred watts for laptop, phone charger, charging battery packs. Hot water would be nice (blower for gas water heater). Freezer isn’t that important to me (worst case, we and the neighbors all eat like kings for a couple weeks).

I had so many 12 gauge extensions running out of my house it looked like the floor of a a server room.

The "Sandy-Q" in my neighborhood was epic.

[stealthn]

Just watched a video on this yesterday: https://youtu.be/VdO32pDi4ko

[Tea Tray]

After years of doing the back feeding thing we put in a transfer switch when we bought a Honda 7,000 120/240 inverter generator. I didn’t want to do the Generac etc permanent install because if we sell the house the generator goes with us.
I wanted an install that was electrically safer and something my wife was comfortable doing.
Recently we lost our power for 5 below-freezing days, it came back on and yesterday with the wild winds, one of our trees took all the power lines down.
The Honda runs our whole house; 220 well pump, 220 heat pump, 220 hybrid water heater etc. I did have to move some breakers around to balance the load so the generator wouldn’t alarm due to momentary overloads.
I went gas even though we have a 330 gal propane tank just because we can always get gas. Plus, being portable, gas power gives us the option to help others.
Our generator is installed in the garage with a proper exhaust pipe thimble as well as an exhaust fan with a powered air inlet damper. A CO monitor/alarm is plugged in.
It’s 14 degrees out now, my wife is watching her favorite show and life is good with over 100 hours in the past two weeks.
Welcome to “The Other” Maine.

[rfuerst911sc]

^^^ Good info thanks for sharing .

[Bugsinrugs]

When we had our eleven day outage last year people with 500 gallon propane tanks were burning through it running their generators. The propane companies could not get access to peoples tanks because of all the trees that went down. So , having a propane supplied generator was great until the propane ran out.

[rfuerst911sc]

The down side of any generator is running out of the fuel source . If trees are down blocking access not much you can do . Being frugal by not running 24 hours a day can really stretch the tank. There is no perfect solution .

[dlockhart]

My brother had one of these installed last year. Cheap ( relatively) and easy to install.
About 1k and less than 1/2hr .
He got great use out of it after a Dec 15 storm had him without power for almost 40hrs.
I'd get one but my utility co will not allow it in their meter. ( dumb)
So I'm left with the old skytrooper method.

Transfer Switch | Global Power Products



.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by jyl

Would the best (easiest, cheap, but safe) way be to run a subpanel with transfer switch, wire that key stuff to the subpanel, and power just that subpanel from the generator?

That's the way mine is wired. We just power the kitchen lights and outlets, water heater, furnaces, and a few lights. We were out of power for a while Thursday night and it worked well.

[jyl]

I thought of something. When we replaced our gas clothes dryer with an electric one (bad decision), I was left with an unused nat gas line in the basement. I could extend that line to a hookup on the outside of the house, on the other side of the wall from the dryer location. Then install a propane/nat gas kit on whatever portable generator I get, and voila no worries about running out of fuel, assuming gas is on.

[rfuerst911sc]

Originally Posted by jyl

I thought of something. When we replaced our gas clothes dryer with an electric one (bad decision), I was left with an unused nat gas line in the basement. I could extend that line to a hookup on the outside of the house, on the other side of the wall from the dryer location. Then install a propane/nat gas kit on whatever portable generator I get, and voila no worries about running out of fuel, assuming gas is on.

In your scenario I would add a tee at the dryer junction with a shutoff and then extend the line for a generator . That way if you want to go back to a gas dryer it's easy to do .

[blucille]

Originally Posted by jyl

I thought of something. When we replaced our gas clothes dryer with an electric one (bad decision), I was left with an unused nat gas line in the basement. I could extend that line to a hookup on the outside of the house, on the other side of the wall from the dryer location. Then install a propane/nat gas kit on whatever portable generator I get, and voila no worries about running out of fuel, assuming gas is on.

I think you will find that the line sized for the dryer isn't sufficient to run a generator.

[jyl]

Originally Posted by blucille

I think you will find that the line sized for the dryer isn't sufficient to run a generator.

Ah, thank you.

[jyl]

Link stashed here for reference

Natural Gas Generator Pipe Size Chart

I need to start measuring :-)

[Jay Auskin]

I can't find the exact outlet, but use an outdoor version of this through the basement foundation wall.



It connects to a duplex outlet near my furnace that are only energized by this plug when a generator is running. Then an extension cord up the stairs to the fridge and whatever else. Saves keeping windows cracked open to run a cord. Also less extension cord length. It's basically a hardwired extension cord that carries no power unless you plug in a cord from you generator.

Also, your truck tow hooks are useful for securing your generator.